Toy pump



TOY PUMP Filed Jan. 24, 1959 INVENTOR 6 wa /M0 Patented June 25, 1940UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY PUMP Howard F. Klauss, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application Jim-y .24, 1939. Serial No. 252.571

3 Claims. I (or roe-s1) The pump of the invention is'intended forservice in displays thatinclude miniature waterfalls, canals, toy waterwheels, and the like. I have particularly in mind the displays that aresometimes used in store-window advertising, and the miniature landscapesand other ornamental displays'that are so commonly provided beneathChristmas trees. Having mentioned these particular adaptations, it willbe understood that numerous other uses will be found for-my pump.

The motor-driven pump unit of the invention includes a cylindrical ortubular housing. More particularly, the housing consists in a domeshapedshell of small diameter relatively to its height. In service theshellstands on end in the body or pool of water from which the desiredstream is to be drawn, and the dome-like top of the shell rises abovethe surface of the water. The shell is transversely partitioned,providing a pump chamber in the lower, submerged end of the shell, andproviding in the upper end a water-tight housing for an electric motor.The pump chamber includes an impeller, connected by a vertical shaft tothe rotor of the electric motor. above. An inlet and an outlet areprovided for the pump chamber, and rotation of the impeller in known waydraws a stream of water from the] pool in which the unit stands anddelivers it through said outlet. The pump chamber in the lower end ofthe shell is submerged in the pool or body of water from which thestream is drawn, with the consequence that the pump need not be primed;it is merely necessary to start or stop the electric motor in order toinitiate or terminate the flow of the stream.

In structures of this sort the motor must be enclosed, to protect itfrom the liquid being pumped, and due to such enclosure of the motor thematter of heat dissipation becomes a prob lem. That is to say, inservice the motor .gencrates heat that must be dissipated, to save themotor from damage. It is also, desirable, if not essential, that thestream delivered by the pump may be regulated; that the mechanicalfriction losses of the rotating partsbe reduced to a minimum; that thestructure be of simple and economical construction, and easy toassemble. With such problems and desiderata in mind, it will beunderstood that my invention consists in refinements and improvements instructural detail and organization.

A unit embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing. Fig. I is a view of the unit in side elevation. Fig. If is aview-of the unit in vertical section, on the plane II-lI of Fig. I; andFig. III is a view of the same in cross section, on'the plane I]IIII ofFig. 11.

Referring to the drawing the dome-shaped shell that houses the structureis shown at l. The shell includes top and bottom walls 2 and 20 and twointermediate walls or partitions 3 and 4; between bottom wall 2 andpartition 3 a pump chamber 5 is formed, and between partition 4 and topwall is a chamber 6. A rotary pump impeller 40 is arranged in chamber 5,while in chamber 6 an electric motor 1in this case an induction motor-ismounted and enclosed. Above the partition 4, bracket portions 10 areprovided on the wall of the shell to. The mounting of the motor. Theshell I, partitions 3 and 4, and bracket portions 10 may be formed as asingle casting, say 20 an aluminum casting, or the shell alone may beformed by "spinning a sheet of metal (aluminum, brass or copper), andthe partitions separately formed and sealed in position in the shell.Preferably, I make the shell, partitions, and brackets integrally, intwo sections Id and lb,

as shown in the drawing, this practice permitting economical productionin known die-casting apparatus. The two sections, thus accuratelyfashioned in dies, are adapted to meet edge to edge on a medial, axialplane of the assembly, and the meeting edges or the shell sections(including the diametrical edges of the semi-circular partition portionscarried thereby) may be fashioned to provide a snug tongue-and-groove,or lap-seam, union 8 of the parts, Security of assembly is obtained bymeans of cross-bolts 9.

' The electric motor I is provided with an elongate drive-shaft or stemI0, extending vertically downward from its armature Ia, through parti-40 tions 4 and 3, and into the pump chamber 5. To the lower end of suchshaft the rotary pump impeller 40 is secured. The impeller consists in acircular body. portion 4| extending in a plane normal to-the shaft 00,and carrying impeller vanes 42 on its nether face. The inlet of the pumpconsists in a port 12 provided in the center of the bottom wall or floor2 of the structure, and the shell I is provided with feet l3 thatsupport the unit, with the floor 2 positioned above the bottom but belowthe surface of the pool of water in which unit stands. The outlet l4 ofthe pump opens through the peripheral wall of chamber 5, and extendsthrough a boss It that is integral with the housing I and internallythreaded for the attachment thereto of a pipe or hose (not shown). Whenthe motor l is energlzed, and in consequence the impeller ll rapidlyrotated, water is drawn inward through port I2 and delivered throughoutlet M.

The wall of the dome-like housing l includes a fitting "5 that permitsthe introduction of lubricant to the motor; the electric lead-wires llof .the motor pass through a seal I8 in such wall;

and it should be noted that the fitting i6 and seal l8 are water tight.

In accordance with the invention, I provide a large body of circulatingwater for cooling the motor, and such body of water is arranged in achamber 65 between the motor chamber 6 and the pump chamber 5. Theintermediate chamber 65 is formed within the shell l between thevertically spaced-apart partitions 3 and 4. A passage is provided frompump chamber 5 to the chamber 65, and advantageously such passage isconcentric with the shaft ill: it is a passage formed by a clearance 30between the shaft and the edge of the orifice in partition 3, throughwhich the shaft ill extends. When the pump is in operation, water isdelivered not only through the outlet I4 but also through the clearanceor opening 30. At the top of the chamber 65, that is, immediately belowthe partition 4, I provide an outlet,and such outlet consists in acrcumferential series of ports is. The water flowing through opening 30fills the chamber 65 to the level of the ports 19, and the fiow throughopening 30, continuing unabated during pump operation, causes anoverflow through the ports. Thus, a relatively large body of circulatingwater is maintained in thermal contact with the internal surface of theshell 8, while the water overflowing from such body passes through portsI9 and streams downward over the external surface of the shell. Thisflow of water over the inner and outer surfaces of the shell iseffective to maintain the motor I at desired operating temperature; thatis, the heat generated by the motor in service is drawn (by conduction)through the portions I0 and walls of the shell 5, into the water incontact with such walls. The flowing water carries the heat away fromthe shell, and the motor I is thus prevented from becoming overheated,without the aid of the usual air vents and fans that are manifestlyobjectionable in a structure such as this. It is important to note thatin the pump unit of this invention the frictional drag upon the rotatingshaft l0 and impeller 40 is reduced to a minimum. The partition 4supports a sea. 2|, through which the shaft extends with snug runningfit. This seal is of double utility: it prevents water from entering themotor chamber 6; and it provides a bearing for the shaft immediatelyadjacent to the motor 1. Below the seal 2i neither the shaft nor theimpeller is subject to mechanical friction; the impeller does not touchthe walls of the pump chamber and the shaft does not touch the partition3 through which it extends. By virture of such organization frictionlosses are held to a minimum.

The delivery of the pump is regulated by means of a simplified buteffective organization of a gate 22. The gate isadjustable upon theunder surface of the floor 2, and in the range of its adjustment thearea of the inlet I! of the pump (and in consequence the output of thepump) may be regulated as desired. of the gate is eflected by means of arotary stem 23, borne in this case by one of the legs or feet It, asshown. The stem 23, extending inward from such leg, is screw threadedand engages a threaded nut portion 22a on the gate, and the outer end ofthe stem is equipped with a knob 2 that facilitates the manual rotationof the stem, to shift the gate longitudinally of the stem and vary theeffective area of the port l2. And for manifest reasons a screen I20 maybe provided in (or over) such port or inlet of the pump.

Within the terms and intent of the appended claims, variousmodifications are permissible.

I claim as my invention:

1. An unit toy structure including a pump rotor and electric motor fordriving the rotor arranged in vertically spaced-apart relation with in ahousing, said housing consisting in an elongate, dome-like shelladaptedto stand, self-sustaining, on end in a shallow pool of water and toextend above the surface of such pool, said shell enclosing said motorwithin its upper end,

and including a pump chamber for said rotor within its lower end, aninlet and an outlet openmg from such pump chamber through the wall Suchadjustment,

of such shell, together with an auxiliary outlet communicating with saidpump chamber and arranged to deliver a cooling flow of water upon theexternal surface of said shell in the vertical interval between the.pool surface and the portion of said shell in which said motor isenclosed.

2. An unit toy structure including a pump rotor and an electric motorfor driving the rotor arranged in vertically spaced-apart relationwithin a housing, said housing consisting in an elongate, dome-likeshell adapted to stand, selfsustaining, on end in a shallow pool ofwater and to extend above the surface of such pool, said shell enclosingsaid motor within its upper end, and including a pump chamber for saidrotor within its lower end, an inlet and an outlet opening from suchpump chamber through the wall of such shell, said shell being providedwith a circumferential series of perforations above the surface of thepool in which the unit stands, said perforations communicatinginternally of the shell with said pump chamber, with the effect that inservice said pump delivers water through said perforations, andmaintains upon the external wall of said shell, in the vertical intervalbetween the pool surface and the perforations, a flowing sheet of waterthat is adapted to dissipate the heat generated by said motor.

- 3. A motor-driven pump unit adapted to stand upon the bed of a pool ofliquid, with the housing of the pump provided with a transverse wallsub- V stantially paralleling, and spaced at an interval

